The structure of a multiple-study proposal/thesis/manuscript?

Question

I'm going to write a proposal for my PhD thesis. I'm familiar with the outline of a proposal or thesis, but my thesis will involve two quite separate studies (like multiple-study articles). I want to know how should it be structured. It's going to be done about successful aging. It's a mixed method study. Actually studies are as follows:

1. Choosing appropriate sample
2. A qualitative research on the sample
3. A quantitative research aiming to generalize the results of Study 2.

I appreciate an example outline or an actual proposal/thesis.

Answer 1

I had a similar situation. My thesis proposal included three different studies.

Obviously, you have a subject and both studies fall under that subject. This means you should have one introduction concerning this subject, one set of objectives and hypotheses. Personnally, it's in the method section that I would explain that I'm going to test those hypotheses using two research methods.

After that, it depends on your institution rules for thesis proposal. Just remember that your PhD is not about the experiment or studies you're doing. It's about answering a specific question, testing some hypotheses.The method you use is secondary (in my opinion).